A week ago Nintendo announced that their hybrid console Switch had sold more than 10 million units! Nobody had predicted results as astonishing as these and analysts had it placed lower than the Wii U in terms of sales, and still the holiday season is yet to come. Some of this success can be attributed to the immensely popular exclusives that it got this year, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey have been accredited as masterpieces by critics.
After the Switch’s success is it possible that it can challenge the PS4 , sure it’s unlikely but the stats suggest otherwise.
- Nintendo Switch was launched on 3rd March and as of December data indicates that it took the Switch 9 months and 7 days to sell 10 million units.
- The PS4 was launched on 15th November 2013 and, took about 8 months and 29 days to sell 10 million units, yet there was one stark contrast. PS4 had a full holiday sales window while Nintendo hasn’t had that with the Switch yet.
- Nintendo’s last console, the Wii U took 2 years and 7 months to sell 10 million units, and it ended its run at 13.5 million units. In other words it was a colossal failure and hence there was initial skepticism surrounding Nintendo Switch
At a rate like this, Sony’s PS4 will get definite competition in terms of overall console sales possibly at the end of this console generation. It raises the question whether the Nintendo Switch will outsell the PS4 in the long run?
It appears that there may be a slight possibility of that happening. While the PS4 has taken the lead yet again with record numbers during the latest NPD ratings for November 2017 the Nintendo Switch has been the best selling console in the US for the previous four months. (July,August,September and October). This coming from a console which’s predecessor the Wii U was a colossal failure and failed to capture the imagination of it’s target audience. Furthermore the Switch was also touted by many to suffer the same fate as the aforementioned Wii U and yet Nintendo stuck to what it does best and have now one of the hottest selling commodities in the market. Nintendo Switch was the best selling online item in the Black Friday week.Hence it is safe to say that the Switch isn’t just a flash in the pan. In the coming fiscal year which starts in April 2018 Nintendo plans to produce 25 to 30 Million units , which will be a major jump considering the fact that PS4 sold 17.7 million units in it’s second fiscal year and the revolutionary PS2 sold 22.52 Million units.
While Nintendo may be having a brilliant launch year I still believe it will be very difficult for Switch to hit the proverbial jackpot with a 100 Million + units sold. While the Switch has defied expectations so far and has had an incredible lineup of software releases in it’s launch year , I somehow get the feeling that they wont be able to sustain it in the long run. PS4 has a number of AAA titles which are set to come out in 2018 and beyond with the likes of God Of War, Days Gone and Spider-Man coming out next year.
In contrast Nintendo arguably has no major titles apart from a new Pokémon game and a potential new Metroid Prime releasing in 2018. Sure the Switch might have a decent year but the PS4 in my opinion will again sell a lot more units backed by its amazing line of software.
The Switch though will always be a success because of being both a home and handheld console . It’s a novelty which isn’t available anywhere else.Let us know your opinions by commenting in the comments section below.
